Lilies lose out on Season Opener

The first game of the season against Fortuna Düsseldorf started lively with action on both sides. The guests had the first chance of the game, but Klaus‘ shot ended up in the arms of Marcel Schuhen on 8 minutes. Three minutes later, Aleksander Vukotic narrowly missed out on taking the lead, his powerful header flying wide of the near post.

The Düsseldorf team had more possession of the ball, but they rarely found a gap against the well-positioned Darmstadt team as the half wore on. The home team, on the other hand, showed their strengths particularly in the transition game, and they repeatedly combined well in front of the opponent’s goal.

After 35 minutes, the 98ers had their best chance to date: Sergio López shot from a tight angle and forced Kastenmeier into a brilliant save in the Düsseldorf goal.

We then went into the half-time break with an overall performance-based draw. Overall, a very decent first 45 minutes from South Hesse.

In the second half, the visitors started the stronger of the two sides but efforts from Klaus on 50 and 52 minutes were both off target. However, the away side did take the lead on 55 minutes as a free kick was diverted by Schuhen by the unfortunate Vukotic.

The home team needed a moment to recover from the goal, but as the playing time increased, the blue-whites managed to move the game further in front of the Düsseldorf goal. An equaliser almost arrived in the 68th minute, but Kastenmeier made a strong save against Fraser Hornby’s header and the goalkeeper also fended off Kai Klefisch’s follow-up shot.

The 98ers then had to play the last few minutes outnumbered: Othmane El Idrissi was the last man to bring down his opponent and, according to the video images, referee Kampka decided to send him off (84th). Fortuna took advantage of their superiority and scored 2-0 through Rossmann (86th). Nevertheless, the Lilies didn’t give up in the last minutes, but still had to admit defeat.